I bought a two night stay for $99 off of dealfind. The package included a bottle of wine and a park pass. I was under no illusion that this was a five-star hotel. Im a frequent traveler, but I thought this would be a nice little romantic getaway for me and the lady.
When I got to the hotel, I noticed that no one else was staying there--fair enough. I asked how much an upgrade cost and upgraded to room with a fireplace and a jacuzzi for $75. Again, my choice, no pressure sale.
When we got to the room, it was freezing cold. It took about an hour to heat up. We took off looking for dinner because the restaurant wasn't open Mondays and tuesdays. When we got back, we started filling up the jacuzzi. One problem, the water was hot for about half the tub, and filled up the rest cold. I went to call the main desk and discovered the room had no phone. I called with my cell--roaming charges. He told me to let the tap run for wait ten minutes and the water would be warm. We did. It never got hot enough to fill up. We sat in a lukewarm, low-water jacuzzi. Later my girlfriend would not have enough hot water in the shower to rinse the soap off her hair.
Afterward, I turned on the tv to watch a dvd. The tv is 14 inch and a rear view projection. The sound was so messed up we couldnt hear talking. So, we watched the movie on my laptop. We put the laptop on the little table and both sat on the couch--a couch that must have been 30 years old, small and very uncomfortable. We then attempted to go online--you know--the whole "free wi-fi" thing. Right, I called the main desk for the password, but he told me it only worked in the little hallway of the main building. I had to trudge to the main desk at midnight to check out some park stuff online--in a cold dark hallway. We spent the night watching The Wire on my laptop. The room smelled like smoke and urine. The bed was uncomfortable.
The next morning we had breakfast in the Restaurant. Now, I want to say something. The restaurant service was amazing. The food was amazing. It made the whole trip worthwhile. In fact, we ate dinner there and the owner (not the same as the hotel owner) gave us free dessert and moved a table in front of the fireplace for my girlfriend. The food was classy.
Going back to the hotel. They didnt salt the front entrance and my girlfriend almost smashed her face. The hairdryer didnt work. A gas checker had to come into our room and check the fireplace gas meter while we were in the room. He walked and all over our room with his boots on. I almost wrote off the money and drove home after the first night.
Despite all of this crap, I was not going to say anything or ask for my money back. I was not going to write a review. We checked out and afterwards, the owner looked at me and said, "Now, what about my tip." I thought he was joking. I said, "What do you mean?" He explained, "It is customary to leave a tip and you can tip any amount you want." I said, "For what, cleaning the room?" He said, "For whatever you like." The fing gall.
We were going to eat breakfast at the awesome restaurant, but I tore a strip into the owner and told him how dumpy his hotel was and went through the laundry list of crap. He blamed the water on his property manager, and obviously did not offer any refund. Unfortunately, we left without eating breakfast.
The hotel is a total dump and they have no idea what customer service means. Pathetic.
Again, I would have just written it all off, except the owner had the stones to ask me for a tip after the bill was paid. So take heed. Avoid staying at this hotel at all costs.
- Algonquin Lakeside Hotel
- Algonquin Lakeside Resort
